In a laboratory environment, chemicals, such as organic solvents (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone and the like), are often stored in bottles, such as plastic bottles and glass bottles. Chemical bottles are relatively smaller and easier to handle as compared to larger chemical storage containers, such as can and drums, thereby providing laboratory personnel with ready access to chemicals.
For materials handling purposes, a chemical bottle is formed from a composition that is resistant to the chemical (or combination of chemicals) that will be contained within the bottle. Additionally, a chemical bottle typically includes a cap to contain chemical vapors within the bottle. Therefore, a properly capped chemical bottle may fully contain the chemicals stored therein.
In some laboratory environments, a particular chemical may be regularly used such that it becomes cumbersome for laboratory personnel to repeatedly open and close the same chemical bottle. Not surprisingly, such regularly used chemical bottles are often left open after use, such as with the cap completely removed from the chemical bottle (as in the case of a screw-on cap) or with the cap in the open configuration (as in the case of flip-top and flip-spout caps). Leaving chemical bottles open presents the risk of chemical vapors escaping from the chemical bottle into the ambient laboratory air.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts directed to caps for containers, such as chemical bottles.